St. Mary’s Medical Center Emergency Room

Have visited there twice: Five years ago when I stumbled and had to get 13 stitches in my chin. Weekend… and I was in and out in 1.5 hours (if you’ve ever been to ER at CPMC or UCSF or SF General, you know that’s a MIRACLE…) The second time was a year ago, when my husband had a stomach ache at 10 p.m. (he never has stomach issues) and at 6 a.m. was tossing and turning, stomach still bothering him. I didn’t want to deal with ER at 8 or 9 a.m., so we went at about 6:45. I live the same distance from St. Mary’s and UCSF… I figured UCSF, if he wasn’t gushing blood, I’d be there for 5 hours. Went to St. Mary’s, expecting it to be something minor. In 30 minutes flat (!!! I still can’t believe it) they had seen him, assessed him, and admitted him — said he’d be there at least 6 days. He had a «kinked» intestine .This is VERY serious — it means that none of the food, «juices» or BLOOD can get through… and if it’s not attended to quickly, the intestine starts to die… and parts can have to be removed, depending on how long the blockage has lasted. Not only that, it very quickly becomes extremely painful. The surgeon waited 8 hours, saying it was possible that it might «unkink» itself — but scared to wait longer, for reasons stated. I was freaked out (my husband was 68, never had any surgery…) Surgery went well, turned out that none of the intestine had died, so they just «unkinked» and sewed him up. The recovery is painful (and my husband isn’t a baby). St. Mary’s ONLY has private rooms — and they put a cot in for me and I stayed with him the entire time. Thank God I didn’t take him to UCSF — they share rooms. The surgeon was fabulous — I have a friend who was a doctor at UCSF for years, and she called around to find out what she could about him before surgery — called to tell me the word was that he was excellent, her friends had the highest regard for him and told me not to worry. They were right. The staff, the room, the attitude of the residents, the nurses — they could NOT have been better. And that really matters during a scary surgery and stressful recovery!

My husband wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for the beautiful people at St. Mary’s medical center. Last week his brilliant doctor Dr. Richard Podolin immediately noticing something life-​threatening and my husbands usually upbeat condition sent us to the emergency room. Sam the nurse and doctor Doe were fantastic the care was immediate and all the way first class. When they had the real top expertise to handle the situation any further they sent us immediately by ambulance to UCSF were my husband’s life was saved again.
I can’t say enough for the first-​class treatment the kindness and the decency offered to us in a very very challenging day thank you St. Mary’s medical center all the people who work there and the lovely Dr. Podolin
Dr. Doe is a compassionate and sweet person, and Sam is a really special,
thanks again!
Lisa and john

Humankindness, and ‘Dignity; great marketing .
i went in freaked out, got more freaked out — no humor, no reassurance, left everything up to me — did i want this, that, this, that? and very little information upon which to base a decision.
did not listen. i had to fight to be heard.
John Muir, asked if i had taken antibiotics within the last couple of months, and explained
if so, they would do an injection — more immediate, less chance of resistance. St. Mary’s
didn’t ask even though i told them i had had infection for same issue just a month ago.
i felt like they were unsure of what they were doing.
so i had to think of everything myself. impatient doctor, didn’t like that i didn’t just go along with the flow
and was protective of myself all along the way. i could have been there for a much
much shorter time, had they been forthcoming with informing me what was going on,
and what i needed to know to make a decision. finally, after doing one thing and that wasn’t
good, had to do the other thing.
bad, bad, really bad experience. UCSF, but if you ask for another doctor when you
get a bad one you don’t like — and i have — it works great, then UCSF is good and they
do know what they are doing. getting the good people is the challenge, but it can be
done. they are professionally all good, just some more communicative then others.
easiest of all is John Muir in Walnut Creek. mostly kind, all knowledgeable and very
informative i knew what was going on right along the way. and they do Listen, you don’t
have to fight for it. the staff including the doctors have been trained to do just that.
same with UCSF. but St. Mary’s forget it! go to the other places, if possible!

The emergency room is always a stressful place to be. However, Yesterday I had to bring my Dad in to the ER. He is 98 years old but in pretty good shape. The Staff were absolutely wonderful. Nurse Jackielyn and Student nurse Stephanie were stellar. They were so caring
and kind to him, and to all of us. It is a tough place to be, they just made the experience
a little easier

As a parent, don’t ever bring your child here. They do not know how to treat children, just old seniors who can’t complain about how long one had been waiting or can’t feel what they did to you.
They are so untrained for babies and children, all they have are gurney. All their equipment are for adults.

A couple of months ago I hurt my neck and the pain would not go away. It got so bad I ended up in the ER in excruciating pain. I was seen right away. My pain was assessed, medications given and tests performed to rule out something serious. What impressed me the most was that the team genuinely cared, they listened, empathized and keep checking on me to make sure my pain was controlled. I am so thankful they did as it took some work to get it under control. Tests came back clear. Diagnosis muscle strain. This is where the Doctor really impressed me. He explained my options discussed what had been done to control my pain, he was writing a prescription for pain control and recommended I seek treatment for the muscle strain as long term pain medications were not the solution. He even discussed non traditional therapies like acupuncture and attested to his own experience helping him. I am not one to go see Doctors let alone acupuncturist– I was very skeptical. I took his advice and I am now pain free. Thank you to the St. Mary’s team for helping me in my time of need!

Sadly we had to visit the ER. The staff was great and patient. It was a long visit due to the situation but I observed how polite and helpful the staff and nurses were. One patient expressed his lack of food at home and I thought it was nice that they provided him with something to take home, even though I don’t believe they were required to do so. It’s the little details that help make the unwanted visit more pleasant.

Unfortunately, I had to make a visit to St. Mary’s ER last night for severe and frequent vomiting. I hesitated to go because I could barely get off the bathroom floor but my husband insisted.
MY REVIEW: St. Mary’s ER is the BEST! They had me on fluids and anti-​nausea medication within about 10 minutes of us driving up. I was so relieved. This visit reminded me of how consistently great they have been for me and my family over the years. The few times that we have had to go — the doctors, nurses and PAs have been quick to see us and always helpful and thorough. Everyone is always extremely nice and compassionate and smart. We are very grateful for St. Mary’s and the team of effective angels that work there! Thank you St. Mary’s!

I had a dog bite on a weekend in the golden gate park and went straight to the emergency centre for treatment. Dr Jeffrey Young, P. A saw me on that day. I was waiting in a big room for 20 minutes and I saw the doctor. He asked me the situation and told me he would not treat me, because there was no Rabies in California since 1950s. So here it goes, he did not even clean my nose, did not even touch me at all. The treatment was over. I was billed with a ridiculous amount of money. I tried to call them to find an answer, but their customer service representatives were constantly helping other patients. This is the worst experience I ever had in my life. Think carefully before you visit them.

Actually had a pretty decent experience here… you know, apart from having to go at all.
The best part is that they use a system called InQuicker that allows you to schedule an appt ahead of time. Even better, a nurse from the company calls you and talks to you about your symptoms. USE THIS SYSTEM! Saves you driving over early.
I ended up having to wait a while and the admin was kind of curt… but hey, there were bigger things going on. I was glad it was mostly empty (only one strung out guy in the waiting room), FREE WIFI (strong signal), and plugs to charge my devices while I waited.
I agree with the earlier reviewer that Dr. Nguyen wasn’t the friendliest… He was curt and brief, but thankfully he came on shift right at 11 so I was finally able to be seen after waiting about 2 hours. The RN who gave me my medicine was super friendly, chatty, and nice.
Wish all experiences were this decent at ERs!

Unfortunately, I had to visit the emergency room twice during my vacation (long story). Each time I was in and out in under two hours and seen literally within minutes. How do you define patient-​centered medical help — DOCTOR DO! He was so attentive and sweet and funny, it really made me comfortable. I have NEVER had an er doctor call me himself to check on me the next day and he totally did. VERY GRATEFUL.

I unfortunately had to come here one night when the back of my earring got lodged deep in my ear. I waited over an hour to be seen which is crap esp since this hospital had advertised that emergency patients would be seen in a half hour or less. LIES! When I was finally seen by the doctor he said that he couldn’t see anything and referred me to a specialist (Dr. Clifford Chew) in Chinatown. I wanted to cry… total time spent here: 1hr 45 min
Fast forward two days later, Dr. Clifford Chew saved my ear! He was super nice and pulled out the earring backing from my ear in no time. Total time: 20 minutes… hmmm
Overall thanks for wasting my time

As a father and overall active guy, I’m no stranger to Emergency Rooms.
Hands-​down, my recent (and only) visit here was the most pleasant ER experience I’ve ever had, directly or indirectly.
The staff was attentive, thoughtful, caring, and efficient. I am so appreciative for their help.
I regret I don’t remember additional staff member names; however, Christian is a helluva RN that has outstanding bedside manner and communication skills, and, the MD on staff, Dr. Hand, was equally helpful.
Thanks so much. I hope I don’t see you soon, but should the need arise, I’ll be sure to return to St. Mary’s.

If I could give this ER zero stars I would. Good thing my bf didn’t have a chest wound or something life threatening. Went in Sunday it was EMPTY which is a good thing, however the fat ass nurses didn’t get off their fat asses for anything. He came in with an injured foot from hiking Yosemite and in agonizing, debilitating pain, didn’t give him anything for the pain, did a shitty job wrapping his foot up, and sent him home, with limited to nothing offs prescription– 5! days later, still unable to walk and went back to his ortho and he might have to get surgery– so fuck off st. Mary’s ER. The rest of doctors experience was pretty good, just never have an emergency and go here!

You can make an appt on line for shorter wait time! They took him on time and we were in and out in less than 2 hours. Super friendly nurses and very clean!

I came here last night after sustaining 2^nd degree burns to my hand (skin sloughing off, etc.- see photo).
My husband had first driven me to CPMC, as it was closer. First, the admin person there simply stared at me when I told her I had severe burns to my hand. Second, the wet towel on my hand wasn’t staunching the pain, so I asked for a basin of cold water, which they refused, stating I already had a wet towel. Since I’m an RN, I sensed this place wasn’t going to cut it. I told my husband to take me to St Mary’s (the next closest ER– I’d have started with the hospital I work at, and trust absolutely, but I’m not a veteran).
What a huge difference. The admin woman was great: she marked the entry paperwork with a highlighter, saying «this is the only info we really need to get started, you can complete the rest later, we’ll send you back to triage in a couple of minutes.» Just as my husband was finishing the paperwork, they called me back. One nurse took my vitals as another brought me a basin of cold water. The doctor came in few minutes later, looked at my hand and advised me of the procedures ahead (cleaning, dressing, etc.) and offered me pain meds (much needed, at this point).
The nurse was especially helpful and kind, checking back often to see if the pain was improved such that she could dress the wound. Then the place filled up and I could hear the interactions with other patients all around me– very efficient and caring group.
The doctor then came back to give me a note for the appointment he had made for me at the St Francis Burn Center and to provide some care instructions and answer any questions.
My pain finally under control, the nurse expertly dressed my wound and provided education for cleaning, re-​dressing etcetera.
This was, by far the best ER experience I’ve had, anywhere (I’ve had a couple of mishaps in my 41 years).
One last note– as I looked around, I pointed out to my husband that St Mary’s treats all of their trash like bio-​hazard, using red bags. The photos from a previous review are showing just that– trash. Nothing in those photos was a «sharp» or needle (even the plastic spikes from IV bags are not considered «sharps» as they are unlikely to pierce the skin and have no contact with body fluid– being on the bag side, not the patient side, and are not supposed to be put into sharps containers). St Mary’s has red «sharps» boxes in each room and there were even non-​sharp articles in them, such as normal saline flushes– showing the typical tendency of staff to err on the side of caution. I.E. The photos and the negative remarks regarding bio-​hazard disposal were much ado about nothing.
St Mary’s is very clean, efficient, and professional (coming from a fellow medical professional with very high standards).
All in all, an excellent experience. I’ll be recommending this place to my friends and colleagues.

Came to the ER because I had severe abdominal pain. The first person that I came into contact their was with a lady who collects your information. She was very pleasant. After collecting the information, I was told to be seated in the waiting room.
I was then called by a nurse and taken to triage. As soon we completed all of this I was taken to a room where one other person was. I was quickly seen by the ER doctor and then made to feel comfortable. Blood work, x-​rays, etc. all done by a staff that makes you feel comfortable, not like a pain in the ass!
Results came in a language that I could understand and not be made to feel stupid for not knowing. They called in doctors that I would need. I was admitted, had follow ups with doctors, and finally surgery. Not at anytime did I feel small by not knowing.
It’s for these reasons that I write a review of something I would not normally do. So many times I’ve been to hospitals, admitted and not known why I’m here.
Thank you St. Mary’s for what you do, the people you employee and the service that you offer.

I will never come here again. I’ll wait at UCSF, thanks.
I came here on a Thursday night at midnight for stabbing stomach and back pains, and I hardly finished my sentence at the front desk when the lady shoved 6 pieces of paperwork in my face and told me to fill them out front to back. Nobody was in the waiting room (now I know why) and I got called into a little room to play 20 Questions with a door nail of an RN. She must have asked me if I was sexually active 4 times. She seemed high to me and couldn’t type. Then she had me pee in a cup before she would even give me anything for the pain.
They put an IV in my arm wrong and I bled everywhere, and then the IV was never hooked up to anything. I waited four hours and never got a diagnosis. They drew blood and ran labs, and the doctor would come in once or twice to say «soooo…» and never really say anything. They gave me an anti-​inflammatory that didn’t do anything and then just left me in the room with no explanation for 45 minutes. There was one other patient in the office.
It took 45 minutes for me to get the damn discharge papers because my nurse kept forgetting, and in the end I got discharged from someone completely different, and had my IV taken out by some random nurse.
Lastly, can we talk about how there were buckets of biohazard material SITTING OUT IN MY ROOM. There were needles and fluid bags (see picture) just sitting out in the open, not SEALED AND CONTAINED like they should be. Stuff was falling out of drawers and cabinets were left open with things not put away. Never, ever again.

Hospitals are always a little depressing.
Been here twice to the ER though for a friend. Both times the nurses have been very nice.
Sometimes they have student nurses and one of them put the IV in my friend and he bled all over the sheets. don’t know if that’s normal.

I was really disappointed the way I was treated, I hurt my toe and I was in a lot of pain. Part of the nail was hanging off, however since there was oozy crap (sorry…I know TMI) it held the nail together and they couldn’t «see» it was coming off. So they just wrote me a prescription for pain killers and told me to go to the doctor tomorrow. I wasn’t being rude, I gave my pain level an 8 because it was hard for me to walk and they also gave me a boot that was two sizes smaller. I just felt dismissed like they weren’t listening to me.
The reason why that «you will be seen in 20 minutes» works in their favor is because they treat folks like cattle and their harsh dismissals has pushed me to write this review.
Keep in mind, nearly two years ago (with no insurance) I had to get stitches and they treated me well. It’s sad to see their service go down hill.